Metanoia (Shirbert AU)

Mutual Misunderstandings

Gilbert's POV:

Creating an apology has proven to be difficult. It wasn't that I didn't feel sorry; I only found it hard to make one because nothing I wrote down was good enough to convey the guilt and regret I was feeling. After spending an hour on it and managing to only write down two words, I decided it would be good to take a walk.

I strolled through the forest to our oak tree. Once I was there I walked along its base thinking about the times we've had out here.

Suddenly, I remembered that the last time I was under this tree, I had my poetry book with me. Maybe, I could write her a poem?... No, nevermind, it wouldn't be that good. Wait...where is my journal? I haven't written anything new in weeks. I stopped walking and tried to think back to where I had seen it last, but I couldn't remember.

I internally waved the thought off and promised myself I would look for it later. Being back at the oak was making me feel worse so I decided I would walk to the lake to sit along its bank instead.

As I drew nearer to the bridge of the lake I could make out a small figure standing on it. I squinted my eyes and the figure's red hair was magnified against the sun behind them. Anne? What was she doing here?

I was still far from where she was standing, but I could see that she was frustrated over something. She paced along the bridge as her hands gripped fistfuls of hair on the side of her head. I suddenly heard an ear-splitting cry escape her lips and my eyes went round. I widened my strides and tried to get to her faster.

She kicked against the bridge and it started to shake.

"No, stop!" I tried yelling out to her, but she didn't seem to hear me.

All of a sudden the structure broke under her feet and she was lost in the water below. At this point, I was sprinting. As soon as I reached the area where the bridge once was I stripped off my heavy coat, jacket, and shoes. Without hesitation, I dove into the ice-cold water.

My body felt as if it were going into shock from the sudden temperature drop, but I fought against it, too worried about Anne. The current was strong but the adrenaline coursing through my veins helped me fight it. I frantically looked around for any sight of the girl, but there was no luck. I swam deeper and I spotted a shimmer of auburn.

I kicked my legs faster and finally, I could reach my arm out and pull the girl towards me. I wrapped one arm around her waist and started fighting the water to get to the surface. Once our heads broke through I gasped and inhaled big gulps of air at a time.

Swimming with the weight of another person on me was a challenge, but I tried my best to get to the edge. I gently laid Anne down on the grass. I placed my fingers on her neck to check for a pulse. It was faint, but it was there.

I could see that she wasn't breathing so I decided to start CPR. I placed the heel of my right hand on the center of her chest and placed my left hand above it, wrapping my fingers below. I started compressions making sure not to crush her ribs. After, I did thirty sets, I moved to her head and tilted it back slightly. I pinched her nose and placed my mouth onto hers to start the "rescue breaths". I watched her chest fill, then deflate again.

I repeated the process one more time and then finally, I could feel her body shift below me. In one swift movement, she sat straight up and coughed out some water. I patted her back as she heaved. I grabbed my coat from off the ground beside us and wrapped it around her shoulders.

She looked around then stared right at me, "Thank you, Gil-" her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she dropped back down, unmoving.

Panic engulfed me and I checked her pulse and breathing once again. Both things were working perfectly fine, but I had no idea what caused her to pass out. I scooted closer to craddled her head in my lap, but once I pulled my hand away to fix her position I spotted a thick crimson liquid coating the palm of my hand. I tilted her head slightly and noticed a huge gash through her red locks.